"Green Scene" Visit



A local CSU Botanic Garden (CS Fullerton) celebrates Spring with a plant fair.  There is almost invariably a heat wave on the event weekend, so we rarely attend.  Saturday was indeed very hot, but Sunday was more moderate so we managed to get there.   Most all the vendors were sold out of anything interesting.  
 The SCHS had a fabulous display.
 Wow, wow, wow, but lots of water involved. 
 There was a carnivorous plant booth.  These were interesting...
 ...but outside of my range of interests (and climate)
What was left was mostly lots of very small, common succulents and tomato plants.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  
It is just no longer an interest.
Next four photos by Beloved:
Good prices!

We focused instead on enjoying the garden, which was an interesting mix of farmhouse flower meadows,  desert gardens, fruit trees, and California native plants.

Opuntia basilaris, grown hard. 
 There were some fabulous Austin roses I didn't recognize.  They were grown with lavish water and fertilizer by the looks of them.  Very happy.
 Some interesting hedges with undulating tops a la Oudolf, with roses mixed in. 
Photo by Beloved.  I think the hedge is a Teucrium?  I spy a blue flower or two.
Photo by Beloved
 

Oooh that's pretty.
 There's a historic farmhouse on the property.  I think that's a Carpenteria blooming. 
 In areas around the farmhouse masses of spring bloomers like Columbine
 Looked lovely.  All browned and died out come summer. 
 Blogger's sweetie in habitat
 Here's the blogger taking the photo of her sweetie
Very evocative of Southern California's orchard era--numerous Avocado trees with a blanket of nasturtiums below.  
What life must have been like in California in the 1920's.  Can you imagine? 
 The Wisteria covering this large pergola was bloomed out, but the shade was welcome.  It was fairly warm on Sunday.
 Abrupt change to a Mojave-type landscape.  Young Bismarkia noblis 



 Ocotillo

Just adjacent to a more chapparal landscape
 I recognized Aloe suzannae.  Mine is getting a lot more water (well relatively) and doing fine.  Our largely warm dry winter probably helped.  The poultry wire was probably protection from rabbits and visitors. 
 This was an amazing amazing amazing tree-trunked beast. 
 By the look of the flowers, a Euphorbia.  I'm not familiar with this one.  Probably E. stenoclada.  (Thanks, Denise!)

 Very happy Alluadia proceras from Madagascar
 Turn your head and you get California again.
 Turn it back and there's Alluadia dumosa.  It photosynthesizes with its stems;  it has no leaves.   Mine which is far smaller was looking bad, but its sprouted new stems recently. 


 Alluadia procera again.  Really happy. 
 And a few steps later, a Bourbon rose, heavily perfumed.  Hmmm...roses and desert plants.  Seems...familiar. 
 This was apparently a studen project to develop robotic gardening machines.   Apparently robots want to grow weeds.
 Who knows what happened.  I removed the student and professor names...I'd be embarrassed if my robot gardened like this, but the facts are unknown.   
 Past a lot of tomato plants.  Not that tomato plants are bad. 
 This was a nice area near the exit. 
 Aloe cryptopoda in bloom.  Cool.
 At the exit and just about the last sales booth, someone was selling Bromeliads for $4!  Unexpected score!  This came home with us. 

Comments

  1. One of my favorite places ... small enough that it is doable in a day ... many large interesting plants you don't see elsewhere ... there is a woodland deciduous tree section that colors up nicely in the fall

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    1. Oh, a visit in the autumn then would be appropriate. Seemed like new things had been planted since we'd been there last (it's been a long time). We really enjoyed it though it was pretty warm. The good weather is about over--hopefully we'll still get to enjoy a long stretch of May Grey/June Gloom.

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  2. So glad you went because I didn't! So much to do and see this time of year. And I think I know your amazing beast -- Euphorbia lignosa! Bumped into one myself in a local parkway. Have a cutting for you if interested.

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    1. Yep, so much to do this April garden-wise.

      Thanks for the clew! #. lignosa led me to stenoclada (which may be a different name for lignosa) and the ever-valuable San Marcos website has a "2nd Image" which is a match.

      Yes, be interested, though it is a scary beastie. Hope your bump wasn't literal, nasty looking spines...

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  3. Impressive grounds! That's another place I've never visited and should. The robot garden was funny but I was most fascinated by those carnivorous plants - they're the most attractive specimens of that type I've ever seen.

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    1. I was amazed by those carnivorous plants as well. I wanted to talk to the proprietor, but he was busy with someone, so I wandered on...

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  4. Your mystery plant might have been a Colletia species. Sue

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    1. I wondered Colletia, yes indeed, but the flowers leaned me in the Euphoriba direction.
      It appears to be this:
      https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=4292

      Colletia paradoxa has sweetly fragrant flowers, by the way. Whoda thought?

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  5. The contrasts in this garden are stunning. From the gardens around the old farmhouse to the desert areas. Wow! California in the 20's ... If only we had a time machine.

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